Stay behind
"Sister, why did you agree to her? If anything happens to the Second Miss, she'll definitely blame you!"
After everyone had gone to pack their luggage, Concubine Li had nothing to do and was in no hurry to leave. She sat on the couch in a sullen manner, and she found everything in the room unpleasant to the eye. Li Qingping felt helpless for a while.
She asked in return, "What good will it do Zhao to wrongly accuse me?"
Concubine Li was stunned for a moment. It seems so!
The second daughter was sent here by the Zhao family herself, and she had passed the path of Prince Xuan. If she really blames Li Qingping, then she is just looking for trouble! If you really think that they can't take good care of your daughter, then don't send your daughter here! If someone is kind enough to help you take care of your daughter and you bite back, who will dare to help the Zhao family in the future!
Concubine Li wasn't stupid, she just didn't understand the situation immediately. After she figured it out, she still hummed, "I don't think she has the guts!"
At this time, Zhao was hugging the second girl and repeatedly giving her instructions.
"Good boy, you have to listen to Madam Li's words obediently during your visit these days, okay? Do you remember what my mother told you?"
The second daughter, Yuzhen, is already three years old. Compared to her elder sister Yujin, who resembles Prince Xuan, she looks more like her biological mother. Her chubby face is full of seriousness: "I remember my mother. Madam Li is the elder. Yuzhen must pay her respects to her properly when she goes there. She must not cause any trouble for Madam Li..."
Zhao touched the second girl's hair bun again and again, sighing, "Good girl."
In reality, Zhao Shi didn't want to build a good relationship with Er Lang as much as Madam Wan did. Er Lang was only a year old, what could he possibly remember? He'd forget about his older sister the moment he turned. It was purely for Er Lang's sake.
The second daughter is not the eldest daughter, and her mother is of low status, so it is inevitable that she is a little inconspicuous in this mansion. Although Prince Xuan loves every child now, who can say how much this love is and how long it will last? When there are more children in the mansion in the future, it is hard to say whether Prince Xuan will still remember those who have a low sense of presence! It is not that Zhao is worrying too much, but Zhao herself has experienced this. If she had not been lucky enough to become Prince Xuan's concubine and give birth to a child, I am afraid that no one in the family would remember her name for a while!
Besides, people's hearts are biased. If even the Emperor is like this, how much more so is Prince Xuan? And let's not even talk about those young men. There are only two young ladies in the mansion now. The eldest, Yu Jin, may have a concubine as her mother, but she is the eldest daughter and is considered a half-legitimate daughter by the Princess of Xuan. Now, she is the Princess of Pingyang, personally appointed by the Emperor. She is also intelligent, clever, well-educated, and well-mannered. It's obvious that her position in Prince Xuan's heart is definitely different.
With such a dazzling eldest sister in the front, the second girl was somewhat overshadowed.
It wasn't that Zhao blamed the eldest daughter; it was simply the truth. It had become even more pronounced since she'd gone to the clan academy. Prince Xuan used to visit the second daughter over a dozen times a month, even if he didn't stay overnight. But after that, he only came three or four times. This drastic decrease in frequency made Zhao extremely anxious, fearing that Prince Xuan had forgotten his daughter.
What made Zhao even more uneasy was that the Princess of Xuan had come to arrange for the second daughter's enlightenment some time ago. Zhao knew that although Prince Xuan didn't personally take care of everything when the eldest daughter was enlightened, at least the teacher was selected by himself, and the pens, ink, paper and inkstone were all prepared. But when it came to the second daughter's turn, there was nothing, and he only left a message for the Princess to take care of it. Although the Princess of Xuan later explained to Zhao that the clan school was now reopened to the girls, the enlightenment teacher was selected only for learning to read, and when they reached the age, they would go to the clan school to learn other things in detail. The Princess of Xuan said that Prince Xuan still instructed that the enlightenment teacher should be selected carefully, but Zhao still felt uneasy.
When Zhao returned to the courtyard, she was restless and looked at her ignorant daughter. When she heard the news of the imperial tour to the frontier, she made a decision in her heart.
Firstly, the eldest daughter was quiet and docile when she was raised by the Princess of Xuan. It was only when she came to Li Qingping that she gradually changed her temperament and became even more beloved by Prince Xuan. It was said that Li Qingping was a good parent, and Zhao Shi, who had some contact with her, believed it. Secondly, although Li Qingping's status was not prominent, she had the support of her sisters, making her difficult to deal with in the mansion. Since those two had their own biological children, Zhao Shi didn't dare let the second daughter force herself on them, but it would be good to establish a good relationship with Li Qingping. If she could win Li Qingping's favor, the second daughter would have an extra support in the future!
What Zhao and Prince Xuan said was true. My daughter usually doesn't take her teaching her to recognize big characters seriously. I really hope she can make some progress under Li Qingping and learn a little bit.
Zhao gave the second young lady a few more instructions and then let her go to bed. She would leave with Prince Xuan the next morning, and the second young lady would have to temporarily move to Li Qingping's courtyard.
The next day, pretending to be reluctant to see Prince Xuan and his entourage off, Concubine Li, feeling like she had become the boss of the palace, turned around and excitedly shook Li Qingping's hand and said, "That's great, sister! Let's go play!"
"What are you playing for?" Li Qingping glanced at her angrily and said, "Not to mention that there are two children who need to be moved in today and I have to keep an eye on them. Besides, you're not even three months pregnant yet, so don't make a fuss."
Concubine Li smiled and said, "Okay, okay, then I'll go with my sister to see the two children."
After saying this, she told Zhang and the two concubines to go their separate ways. If there was anything they couldn't handle in the next few months, they could send a servant to find her.
When Li Qingping and Concubine Li returned to the yard, it was already bustling with activity.
"It's obvious that my sister doesn't have her own children yet, but there are children coming and going here. But I heard that fetuses like to go to places where there are children. I'm looking forward to having a child who looks like my sister!" Looking at the people busy in the yard, Concubine Li sighed.
Li Qingping said calmly, "Who can say for sure about the child?"
Prince Xuan has been very kind to her in the past two years, but there has been no news of her pregnancy.
Fortunately, Li Qingping was not very obsessed with having her own child. If she had one, she would have one, and if she didn't, she wouldn't have one. After all, she could live a good life in the palace without a child.
Over there, the second young lady was led by a nanny to pay her respects to Li Qingping and Concubine Li, and then she stood aside obediently, watching the one-year-old Erlangjun also staggering over.
He Zhao was very familiar with Li Qingping and the others, and grinned: "Aunt, little aunt."
Concubine Li was delighted when she saw this: "Oh, our He Zhao has gained a lot of weight recently!"
Because he was a premature baby, although Erlangjun had never suffered from any serious illness, he was thinner than his brothers and sisters. For this reason, Prince Xuan and Princess Xuan were worried for a long time.
Fortunately, after consulting many women inside and outside, Erlangjun did not follow the palace rules and drink milk until he was two years old. Instead, he started to eat complementary foods from the time he started to have teeth. He became much healthier and even started to gain weight.
It’s good to gain weight, it’s better than being thin and sickly.
This time, I saw that Erlangjun had gotten fatter than the last time I saw him.
He Zhao could now understand some of the words and knew what Concubine Li meant. He turned away angrily and ignored her.
"You even know how to throw a tantrum!" Concubine Li poked the child's cheek in surprise.
He Zhao: “…”
Erlangjun's mouth was pouting and he was about to cry.
Finally, Li Qingping couldn't bear it any longer and took He Zhao, who was clinging to the nurse's thigh, into his arms and coaxed him, "He Zhao, good boy, auntie will take you to see the fish, okay?"
He Hao liked this aunt the most. Unlike his younger aunt who only teased him all day, he said loudly in a baby voice, "Okay!"
Li Qingping also said: "Yuzhen, come along."
Hearing that there was something about her, Yuzhen was stunned for a moment and subconsciously glanced at Concubine Li.
No matter how young, children of the royal family are always more intelligent than others. Their environment forces them to learn to read people's expressions early on. Just like when He Zhao arrived, Yu Zhen remained silent. This was because she knew He Zhao was the legitimate son and was close to Li Qingping. In terms of intimacy and seniority, Yu Zhen could not compare.
Now hearing Li Qingping's invitation, Yuzhen subconsciously looked at Concubine Li, because she knew that Concubine Li was the one with the most say in the mansion.
Even though she was not on good terms with the child's mother, Concubine Li had her own children and naturally would not embarrass a child, let alone a three-year-old girl. Her expression was now indifferent, no longer the smile she had used to tease He Hao, but she still said gently, "Let's go together."
Several people went to a large fish tank at the back to watch the fish and feed them. When it was time to eat, Concubine Li had a meal with Li Qingping again, rested for a while, and then slowly returned to her own yard.
"Yuzhen, don't you want to go to sleep?"
He Luo went to rest with the wet nurse. Li Qingping went to take a look and after confirming that nothing was wrong, he went to Yuzhen's room and found that Yuzhen had not taken a nap yet.
Yuzhen opened her eyes wide, but it was obvious that her eyelids could not hold up.
Li Qingping's heart softened, and he sat down beside the couch and said softly, "Does our second young lady have something to tell me?"
"I heard from my mother that a teacher will come to teach Yuzhen how to read in a few days."
"Yes, our second daughter has reached the age of enlightenment. In two years, when she is five years old, Yuzhen can also follow her elder sister to the clan school to study."
Yuzhen knew why her mother had sent her to Madam Li's abode. Madam Li was a learned woman, and her mother wanted her to learn from her. But Yuzhen's face wrinkled, "Yuzhen doesn't like studying. Madam, does Yuzhen have to study?"
Li Qingping asked, "Why doesn't Yuzhen like reading?"
Yuzhen said dejectedly, "My mother taught me to recognize a few big characters. But the books I read were so boring. Yuzhen couldn't understand any of them."
Li Qingping suspected that Zhao was too eager for success and had made the second young lady read those obscure books just after she learned to read, which had discouraged her. However, she did not point it out, only saying, "Yuzhen, go to sleep. Once everything is settled, I will take you to see the books that your elder sister used to read."
Yuzhen couldn't hold on any longer, so Li Qingping tucked the quilt in for her, gave the nanny a few words of advice, and then left.
"Find out the little books of the eldest lady and put them in the small study." After returning to his bedroom, Li Qingping instructed Yun Lian, while Yun Su helped her wash her face.
Yun Su whispered, "Master, please forgive me for being so nosy. The Second Miss is only staying for a while, why do you take it so seriously?"
If it were any other master, he would have been very unhappy to see his servant overstepping the boundaries like this. However, Yun Su had been with Li Qingping since childhood, and even Yun Lian could not match her in loyalty and closeness to him. That was why he dared to ask boldly.
As expected, Li Qingping didn't blame her. Instead, he patiently said, "Yesterday, in front of the prince, Zhao sent me here under the pretext of wanting the second young lady to study. The second young lady will be studying with a teacher in a few days, so it's no big deal for me to send her some books that the eldest young lady has read. Besides, the emperor's grace in reopening the imperial academy for young ladies was because that young lady from the imperial family couldn't read. The second young lady must learn something no matter what. The eldest young lady is doing well in the academy now. With her sister as a shining example, it won't hurt for the second young lady to accumulate more knowledge."
Then he sighed, "I just hope Yu Jin's little books can pique the Second Miss's interest a little."
After hearing this, Yun Su stopped worrying and just said, "Master, you are kind."
Kind? Perhaps. It was just that, given the current situation in the mansion, there was no need to mess with those people in the backyard. Li Qingping leaned on the couch, resting her head and closing her eyes for a short nap, thinking that if someone was so foolish as to cause trouble for her, she wouldn't be kind either.
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